


The Stars Will Lead Me Home

by GreatHammerhead



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Pirates of the Caribbean (Movies)
Genre: F/M, PIRATES GALORE, POTC 5 spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-10
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-15 20:08:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12327975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreatHammerhead/pseuds/GreatHammerhead
Summary: All she had left of her father was a book of the stars encrusted with a ruby. After years of wondering, she finally sets out on a voyage that she hopes will lead her to her father, not knowing she would find so much more.





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A much-needed shout out to ForeverDelighted / eviarry (on tumblr) for her headcannon that inspired this , about Barbossa being Evie's father. (Also a shout out to lln, who also has a story inspired by this headcannon called "A Child of Two Worlds" and you should totally read it oh my lantaaa.)

Tales had been told of the infamous group that had escaped the Isle of the Lost; the only ones to have ever escaped.

Many folks said they were a pirate crew, though Captain Hook told a different story, convinced that if a pirate crew were to ever escape, it would be his.

The details became very blurry over the years for most of the villains…except one.

The Evil Queen knew too well the tale of the men who escaped from the Isle.

They were, in fact, pirates, and probably the worst of all. When the crewmen took to the streets of the Isle a few years after its’ creation, they openly displayed their immortality, using it to garner whatever they wished from the poor masses.

They did stay away from most of the more well-feared villains, such as Maleficent, but tried storming her castle within the second week of their arrival.

She’d been sitting by the fire, looking picturesque and as if she’d been waiting for them all along when they threw her doors open.

“Just because we’re all villains here,” She began, taking an interest in the small chip that had formed in her nail polish, “doesn’t mean we can show up to each other’s houses uninvited. It’s quite rude, don’t you think?”

A portly man sneered. “Haven’t ye heard? Threats don’t work on us, pretty lady. We here are immortal.”

“But your ship isn’t.” Her words gave them pause. “Ships hold some form of sentimentality to pirates, don’t they?”

“Look who’s talkin’, held up ‘ere in yer castle.”

She rose a brow, completely unperturbed. “And so it does. The idea of a castle. And you have the idea of freedom. I wonder who will be wounded more?”

“Listen, wench-”

The man went to take a step forward when the blade of a sword pushed him back.

“Now lads, who are we to talk to such a creature like that?”

The Evil Queen gave as much of a smile as she could, the corner of her lip quirking only slightly for a moment. “Creature, you say? If I were a simple creature I don’t suppose we’d have having this conversation.”

“’Tis but a term, yer Highness.”

“You should expand your vocabulary then.” She lifted her hand, tapping her chin twice. “Why the sudden formality, I wonder? Your men were just trying to terrify me into giving up all my…riches.” She gestured to the room around her, decorated with nothing but mirrors. She had nothing left for them to take.

“We’re naught but humble pirates. My men see a castle and they believe there be gold within its walls.”

“I pity just how little control you have over them.”

The man she assumed was the captain narrowed his eyes.

“We be pirates, we’re all free men. We-”

“Free?” The Queen raised a perfectly arched brow. “Not on this island. That’s what you fail to understand.” She folded her hands on her lap, head held high as if she were addressing her subjects. “Once you and your…“free men” do as they please, there is no escape, nowhere for them to hide. If Auradon is paying any attention, they’ll sentence you as they see fit. If they don’t care, then the Isle will turn against you. Or, if you choose to kill everyone, you’ll end up all alone, trapped on an island with only yourselves, surrounded by a sea you cannot touch.”

A few of the pirates shared looks, as if they’d never even thought of the consequences prior to their pillaging. The captain weighted the options.

“And what do ye suggest?”

“Understanding that none of us wish to be trapped here and acting accordingly.”

Her words left no more room for argument.

The captain bowed before her, lifting his hat off with a flourish.

“I apologize. We will think on yer words. Is there a way I can repay ye for the inconvenience we caused ye?”

“I’m rather fond of apples.” For the second time that day, she felt herself smile, this time more than the last.

“An apple a day it ‘tis, yer Highness.”

The pirates left, many with scowls on their face, but the captain was the last to leave, taking his steps slowly, as if waiting…

“What is your name?” The Queen asked. Her voice was low, not wanting anyone to hear unless they were acutely listening.

And he was. The pirate turned around, trying to hide the smugness he felt.

“Captain Barbossa, at yer service.”

* * *

Captain Barbossa and the crew of _The Black Pearl_ were on the Isle half a year before they were called back through the use of magic unlike the Queen had ever seen.

He’d been with her when he felt the call.

It had pulled at his skin, overpowering all his other sensations as awoke, still tangled her silken sheets.

He didn’t remember when he actually stumbled to her door, only that he was startled when she grabbed his forearm with enough force to hold him in place.

Her gaze was cold, but she no longer frightened him; her dark hair was a knotted mess from his hands and her skin marred from their frequent trysts. A few months had passed since they’d begun…whatever this was, and he was still shocked that such a fair creature let him into her bed.

He’d be reluctant to leave if he’d been called by anyone else but the sea.

Tia Dalma, whom he’d been introduced to by none other than Jack Sparrow, may have been a woman of flesh and bone, but he was one of few her knew her for what she was, the sea herself, bound to human form.

When it came to the sea and those that had a part in it, she held all control over them. He’d been surprised when they’d been captured and taken to Auradon, and she _let_ it happen.

He could only imagine why he was being returned, but it wouldn’t be good.

The small part of himself that had surrendered to his fate, to living on the Isle, didn’t want to leave. After all, who would _want_ to leave such pleasurable company?

But he was a pirate and his first love was the sea.

The Queen, for starters, would flat out refuse such a lifestyle.

Her home was a castle, all high ceilings, four poster beds, and a dining table so long it could fit most of his crew.

She would never choose to go, and he would never expect her.

Still, that didn’t mean it would be a happy goodbye.

“Magic,” His throat was dry, and it broke on his words, “is pulling me back to the sea.”

She immediately let go, body stiffening, as she returned herself back to the Evil Queen he’d met many months ago.

“There is no magic here.”

She watched his back as he left, as he left her. He didn’t even make it to the stairs before his body emitted a strange glow, and then he disappeared altogether.

The Queen rushed to the window, looking as best as she could for where the _Pearl_ was docked. The ship, too, glowed that strange, ghostly light, before it vanished into thin air.

She stared out that window for what felt like hours.

She’d thought he was being cowardly, trying to sneak out on her and _lie_ , but what she’d just witnessed was no less than truly powerful magic if it could break through Fairy Godmother’s barrier.

She didn’t dare go back to sleep, not with his smell still on her sheets, knowing she would fool herself into thinking he’d be there when she woke up, like before.

But, if the light that stole his ship away was any indication, he wouldn’t be returning.

He wouldn’t return to her.

She innocently placed a hand on her stomach, knowing only of the marks left there and not of what grew inside.

Upon being banished to the Isle, the Queen lost hope of marrying a King again. Everyone on the Isle was a ruffian that she would never touch, but that train of thought was broken the day Barbossa and his pirates came to her castle.

He wasn’t a particularly handsome man. He was a bit older than her, or at least looked it from the abuse he’d taken over the years, but he’d charmed her in a way she hadn’t thought possible, and his betrayl — as she came to think of it; she didn’t care he had no choice, or that even if he did, he would have chosen the sea over her — was a knife to her heart.

One didn’t need love. Love was fleeting, love was fickle.

Beauty mattered. Beauty, true beauty, couldn’t be broken, even by time.

It didn’t matter that the sun hadn’t risen yet. The Queen sat at her vanity, taking out the make-up she’d be using that day, and began to apply it.

She covered up every mark he left her with, and soon there was no trace of him left.

If life had been permitting, that would’ve been the end of it. A few washes of the sheets would rid his smell, a few days the marks would fade…

She hadn’t anticipated he, a man cursed with immortality, would leave her with a child.


	2. followed by ghosts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is very...backstory heavy, and I hope it’s enjoyable to read. I wanted to make sure I set everything up, since it’s both in the future for the Descendants timeline, and how it crosses over into the Pirates timeline, since they’re very different.
> 
> Please let me know if I need to clear anything up!
> 
> Also, just so no one gets confused, there’s a character in the second scene that isn’t from anything Disney, just a character from a different series since I couldn’t really think of a Descendants/POTC character that could fit the bill.

Evie ran her fingers across the fabric of her latest piece. It was a tiny strip of leather meant for embellishment on a jacket; in all her collections, she liked to keep reminders of the Isle that you’d only catch if you were paying attention.  
  
Nearly a decade has passed since she first left the Isle, and a part of her still missed it. If she hadn’t gone through what she had, she didn’t know if she’d have the drive to work hard so she’d never have to miss a meal again.  
  
Now here she was, the biggest fashion designer in Auradon, sought out by all the royalty as well as the common folk, for whom she also made an affordable line.  
  
When she had time, she sat on the Isle Council, comprising of other villain children that wished to ensure not to repeat the past. By now, all the children that wished to leave had done so, and many were making prosperous lives for themselves outside the gaze of their villainous parents.  
  
Uma had helped them see how important that was.  
  
She and her crew had been one of the new waves of transfers over to Auradon, and despite what had transpired at Cotillion, Uma’s boldness to do something made her the first name to be added to the Isle Council, as well as a primary transporter of goods — well, when she so desired. Otherwise, as long as she and her crew weren’t reigning absolute terror, they were pretty much granted free reign to sail the seas as they wished.  
  
That had been the only day Evie ever saw tears be brought to Uma’s eyes.  
  
They’d developed a passing friendship within the Council, and Evie still sent Uma gifts every year as a thank you for opening their eyes.  
  
Uma wasn’t the only one she sent gifts to. Even those she never encountered or cared for, she would send gifts as a reminder of their shared past, a bond they had with each other. It could never make up for the time Evie and her fellow VKs spent living in luxury while the Isle suffered, forgotten, but for Evie, it was the least she could do.  
  
Her fingers paused against the fabric, feeling the familiar pang in her chest.  
  
Of course, thinking of the Isle brought her thoughts back to her mother.  
  
She looked to her second work desk, the top of which held mostly finished pieces, as well as gifts for her mother.  
  
Ever since she chose Auradon, her mother was _livid_. Now that Evie had the means to send her mother lavish presents, on all occasions the items had been sent back to her.  
  
Even the mirrors.  
  
Instead, she’d taken to sending smaller, more personal gifts.  
  
She’d even sent drawings she did; if any kind of fashion pieces that were inspired by her mother, after another sketch had been drawn, Evie would send the original to her mother.  
  
It seemed the Queen would rather something Evie put actual effort into, rather than a pretty necklace she’d seen in a shop window.  
  
It was a stark change in her mother, a change Evie still didn’t quite understand, and she didn’t think she’d ever want to.  
  
But she should at least try.  
  
She put the leather strip down and went to the other work table.  
  
Now was as good a time as ever to visit her mother, wasn’t it?  
  
After grabbing everything she’d need and leaving the room, she didn’t realize that after her rummages, a small, leather-bound journal had fallen to the ground.  
  
A journal with a bright red ruby set on the front.

 

* * *

 

“TORTUGA!” The chorus rang through the halls of the _Queen Anne’s Revenge_ as scores of pirates disembarked, some being too impatient and deciding to fling themselves from the railings and onto the decks of the dock.  
  
Captain Hector Barbossa was the last to leave, and he did so with pride.  
  
After a brief — and for him, _scarring_ — stint in the King’s Navy, he exacted revenge on the terrifying pirate Blackbeard who took his leg, and now he’d taken his ship, and was back to the joys of piracy.  
  
The stench of Tortuga was something he sorely missed.  
  
It was everything raunchy and dirty and exactly what he’d needed. And the hordes of treasure Blackbeard had collected meant Barbossa and his crew had a lot to play around with.  
  
While Barbossa enjoyed mixing business with pleasure, there was something he needed to do first before joining his crew at one of the many taverns, and indulge himself in all manners of bad behavior.  
  
He’d heard whisperings while he worked with the royalty, whisperings about a place he’d almost forgotten about: The Isle of the Lost.  
  
After being sentenced there, he’d realized he and his crew were from a seemingly different time and place. It felt like they were at the edge of a map, their worlds only tethered by the ocean they shared.  
  
The Crown partially knew of this technology and were granted bits and pieces of it in order to stay in the loop with Auradon, and it was how he’d been thrown on the Isle in the first place. Auradon didn’t want the Isle to mostly consist of old-time pirates, so the Crown relented and sent the first major captain and crew they were able to.  
  
They weren’t too happy to hear of his escape, but that had helped him join the Navy: he divulged what information he could about the limited technology of the Isle — they were especially interested in TVs.  
  
These TVs, however, were already known among some of the pirates. Someone had smuggled in a few, and after a bit of tinkering and magic, they were able to freely watch all Auradon had to offer. From what he understood, they aired quite amount of information on these TVs, and few men and women of this age were able to figure out how to save and extract it for later use.  
  
And one of these very pieces of technology sat in a building in Tortuga.  
  
_The Hanged Man_ was a more low-key tavern, as it was more inland than the others, so those who were looking for a quick drink were more likely to choose a different location. It was a place mostly for business and trading, but would grow louder as the other taverns filled up.  
  
_The Hanged Man_ had a vast amount of hidden doors, and so Barbossa had to make sure he knocked on the correct one, lest he be kicked out for going where he shouldn’t.  
  
The door was on the third floor, mostly obscured by a bookcase — Barbossa had laughed at that — and upon entering, he counted four flights of stairs that the guide led him down.  
  
After walking down an impossibly long hallway, the walls finally opened up and Barbossa froze.  
  
He truly felt like he was in a different world.  
  
One of the walls held a large, flat screen with what looked to be news footage playing. Barbossa could only understand a few bits and pieces of it, gathering that the woman on camera was in Auradon.  
  
Scattered around the room were smaller, box-like TVs where a few other pirates sat in front of, different images flashing across those screens.  
  
There was a smaller bar here, and the man behind it looked up from the glass he was cleaning.  
  
“Greetings, Captain Barbossa,” He nodded his head and put the glass and rag down. “While your reputation surely precedes you, we do require-” He was cut off by the large pouch that was thrown at him, and he caught it in his large hands. He needed only to peek inside before he whistled. “Definitely precedes you.”  
  
He stepped away from the bar, and out of sight. Barbossa squinted, trying to see where he’d run off to with _his_ coin before realizing he was right in front of him — the man was a dwarf.  
  
The dwarf bowed. “Varric Tethras, at your service. What can I do for you?”  
  
“The Isle.” Varric raised a brow, needing much more than that. “The name has been reaching me ears again, and I want teh know _why_.”  
  
Varric raised a brow. “Not sure why. Things are pretty steady on the Isle, now that only the original villains are confined-”  
  
“ _What_?” Varric was only mildly annoyed to be cut off again.  
  
“How long have you been out of the loop?” Barbossa’s silence was clear enough for the dwarf, and he just nodded to himself, making his way to one of the smaller TVs, beckoning Barbossa to follow him.  
  
“The last 10 years, the short version. Pre-made for your convenience.” Varric made a quick trip to the bar, pressing a few buttons that were underneath until Barbossa’s screen lit up, and returned with a bottle of rum.  
  
And that was how he left the Captain.  
  
Barbossa took it all in, beginning with the four children that started it all.  
  
This was what he’d heard, but didn’t know if it had just been talk from what remained of his crew.  
  
The Evil Queen had a child, much to the delight of his crew who knew of his nights with her.  
  
He believed himself to be infertile while he was cursed, and so the thought never crossed his mind. And he refused to believe otherwise.  
  
However, that line of thought also spread jokes about how she was either sleeping with someone else during that time, or immediately went to someone better than their captain.  
  
Either way, Barbossa refused to believe the darling creature on the screen _could_ be of his blood, the way she balanced her Isle past and her Auradon future. She had something neither he nor the Queen had, _true_ smarts.  
  
He learned all of what had happened while he’d kept a blind eye to that particularly short part of his past, though it felt like a lifetime ago...and he would never admit to anyone that thinking of the Queen was still an incredibly sore subject.  
  
“Varric,” In seconds, the dwarf was at his side. “Is there any information on the villains still on the Isle?”  
  
Varric rubbed his clean-shaven chin. “There’s not much, since they don’t exactly like to be recorded over there. But I’ll put up the footage that we have.”  
  
Varric returned to the bar, retrieving the needed footage in a way only he understood, before it once again appeared on Barbossa’s screen.  
  
The first piece was from when the Isle four were back, presumably once the school year had finished.  
  
_“Our beloved once-villains are returning to the Isle! But don’t worry folks, they won’t be gone for long!”_ The name of the announcer was Snow White, and it took Barbossa a few minutes to remember who she was supposed to be. When it dawned on him that this is who the Queen had tried to end, he couldn’t help the laugh that clawed itself from his throat. _“Now that they’ve decided to make Auradon their permanent home, they’re not only picking up the last of their belongings, but they’re picking up new students as well!”  
  
_ The news reel went on to show various locations of the Isle, places that he thought he’d forgotten about, but the memories hit him as soon as they appeared on screen.  
  
He even saw Pirate’s Bay, and the mess of grumpy-looking pirates that looked to be begrudgingly joining Auradon. He even spotted what looked to be Hook’s boy, who seemed to inherit his crazy eyes and love for carrying around a hook for a hand.  
  
Then came the exterior of the Queen’s castle, and his breath hitched in his throat. She stood in the doorway, arms crossed over chest as her gaze was so piercing he truly felt she was staring him down again despite this recording being nearly ten years old.  
  
The years took a toll on her, but to him she was still as beautiful as ever.  
  
And with that thought, that revelation that hit him like a slap to his face, he nearly jumped from his seat and headed for the exit.  
  
Auradon and the Isle were too far away. There was no point in even _thinking_ about it.  
  
Hector Barbossa took a large swig of the bottle of rum he’d been given, heading back to what he _knew_ : the sea.  
 

* * *

  
Her mother had just been staring at her for the past half hour, and even after being raised by the woman, she wasn’t quite sure what she was thinking.  
  
“Come here.” Like an obedient child, Evie approached her mother, standing before her. “You haven’t been doing many face masks, have you? The bags under your eyes are disgusting.”  
  
But unlike a child, unlike the child she once was, Evie just smiled.  
  
“I don’t mind them one bit.” She then returned to her seat with a flourish, not minding her mother’s thin-lipped expression.  
  
“You’ve changed, my dearest.”  
  
“So have you.” She shot back, unable to stop herself. She was a little too pleased when her mother narrowed her eyes, not used to Evie challenging her. “I know you don’t appreciate my gifts,” Evie began, turning to the large bag she’d brought with her, “but I thought you’d like these pieces I made by hand, as well as my original drawings for them.”  
  
Her mother took the jewelry and dresses without a word, though her eyes lingered on the drawings, as if confirming it belonged to Evie.  
  
“You’ve had the time to make all this.” Her voice was even, betraying nothing. “It’s safe to assume you haven’t yet found a prince?”  
  
Evie grit her teeth. “I’ve dated, but I have yet to find someone I truly love.”  
  
“Ha! True love! There’s no such thing.” The Queen picked up the glass of wine Evie hadn’t noticed and took a long sip.  
  
“It exists. You just have to look.”  
  
Her mother scoffed, taking another drink.  
  
Evie drew in a deep breath. “So you didn’t have that with my father?”  
  
The glass was crushed in her grasp.  
  
“ _Never_ ,” The Queen’s voice was shaky, far from the cold anger Evie was used to seeing from her, “speak of that _low-life_ in my presence!”  
  
The Queen pointed to the door, the shards of glass flying to the floor from the gesture.  
  
Without a word, without a goodbye, Evie picked up her bag and walked out of her childhood home, never once sparing her mother a look.  
  
Once the front door of the castle slammed shut, the Queen immediately hunched over, silent tears sliding their way down her cheeks.


End file.
